the POLSKI blog

This is just a quick language update, inspired partly by what I saw this morning outside my window – at least three seasons in one day. First it was white snow, almost appropriate for this time of the year, although highly unlikely to stick around (so to speak) for long in London, then beautiful spring, [...]

Since you’re already able to say ‘hi’ and ‘thank you’ in Polish, maybe you should try and introduce yourself, eh? (the audio files below may not work if you’re reading this in an RSS reader) Nazywam się Will. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] ‘My name’s Will’. The simplest way to introduce yourself in [...]

Kraków? Cracow? Krakow? How on earth do you spell it? (Kraków) But more importantly, how do you pronounce it? Don’t fret – that’s why you have the Polski Blog Today just a bunch of cities, starting with the more popular ones. Kraków [Audio clip: view full post to listen] has become a popular tourist destination [...]

I remember when I was a kid and my mom made smalec (basically pork drippings – LARD, in other words) I used to run a mile. I hated this stuff – nothing but pig’s fat with pepper, some onion and – if you’re lucky – some herbs. Nowadays, when you go to a restaurant in [...]

Had a bit of a long break with my Polish lessons, but just got back from Greece (lovely and sunny Cycladic Islands) and realised again how important it is to know just a few basic phrases. You don’t need to be fluent, you don’t need to shine, but just make the effort and learn a [...]

As promised in my previous polish your Polish post, time now to learn how to say ‘Goodbye’ in Polish. The most popular phrase is probably Do widzenia! [Audio clip: view full post to listen] which is the equivalent of ‘Goodbye’. This is a bit formal, but also one of the most common phrases, apart from [...]

So, I got carried away with my previous polish your Polish post, but I had to tell you how to express love in Polish, ok? Sorry if my voice sounded very uninspiring, but somehow the idea of expressing my feelings to an inanimate object (i.e. my microphone) didn’t quite work for me. Hence today I’m [...]

Every now and then I’ll try to teach you some useful Polish words, phrases, expressions, etc. One day they’ll come useful, you’ll see! What word shall we start with? Why not ‘Cześć’. No, no – don’t roll your eyes! I know it’s got only one vowel and two weird-looking characters, but all will be explained. [...]